Employees at Harley-Davidson's York plant on Thursday held a meeting, during which the company announced that a joint team of union leadership and company membership has agreed on a "viable restructuring plan" for the plant, a company spokeswoman said.

The plan is only a portion of the company's consideration when deciding whether to stay in York, and the union's support of the plan will be crucial, said company spokeswoman Pat Sweeney.

The Milwaukee-based company is considering relocating to another state, saying that the workforce and the facilities at the Springettsbury Township are inefficient.

The joint team was assigned to work together to develop possible solutions that could make the plant more profitable and keep the work in York.

The plan was not approved by the entire membership of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, whose Local 175 represents about 2,000 workers at the plant, but was agreed to by union leadership, said Sweeney.

During Thursday's meeting, the company also shared that in order for the plan to work, the company and the union must be able to negotiate a new labor agreement, Sweeney said. The workers' three-year contract expires Feb. 1.

Employees were also told the union must support a new structure that would change the way they do work, creating a new work climate with greater flexibility to help the company operate more efficiently, she said.

Sweeney said the joint team has submitted its plan to

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the company. The next step is to begin union negotiations in the next couple of weeks, she said.

The union is expected to vote on the new contract in December, with the company making its decision on the future of the York plant by the end of the year, she said.

Sweeney said the company prefers to stay in York, but that will require a "re-shaping" of the workforce and the current work climate. The plan that was submitted was designed to make the York plant cost-competitive for the long term, she said.

Sweeney said specific details of the plan are not being released at this time.

Meanwhile, the company has narrowed its relocation possibilities to three cities: Shelbyville, Ind., Shelbyville, Ky., or Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436 or ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com.